These days, swept up in technology moment to moment, rushing through jobs and life and relationships, it seems so ironically logical that the time-consuming use of one’s hands to create has been deemed a fanciful hobby. Everyone is touched by this mentality, from the Wall Street big shot who as never made something with his hands, to you, sitting at your computer instead of creating (not that I’m encouraging you to hop off at this very moment…) Everyone has cracked a joke or two about the crazy, knitting cat lady, or the tasteless housewife who spends hours making bedazzled toilet paper covers… Yikes.
But tell me, why in the world has craftsmanship come to be viewed as such a useless hobby? For pretty much the entire history of humanity, those skilled with their hands were an integral part of society. Craftsmen such as tailors, cobblers, weavers and blacksmiths hand-produced the materials that communities relied upon for function and entertainment.
My friend Tim, of Fernand Footwear, is an extremely talented modern-day cobbler.
Once the industrial and technological revolutions swept through, people were so thrilled to have quicker, cheaper goods that craftsmanship has largely faded in common society. But do cheaper, mechanically and mass-produced goods help humanity?
Weaving, Factory-style
We have lost the human touch, the love and care that goes into producing goods that one claims with pride. Mass-produced goods take away local jobs and reduce the skill level of laborers in factories to mindless drone work. They harm local economies as the money they make is channeled back to a big corporation outside of the community… Oy, I think I should save my rant about corporate evil for a later date… In summary, the decline of handmade goods has done a great deal of damage to our local communities.
Weaving on a floor loom... quite a different feel, eh?
So lets do something about this! If we begin to take back the idea of local, handmade goods, we can bring money back into our communities, support local artists in their love of craft, and piece by piece, bring the human touch back into our lives.
Handmade costumes? You bet! That is me on the right, baring my teeth!
I have always loved working with my hands. Growing up, I dabbled in everything from weaving to diorama-making, and as I have found myself more and more, I have realized I am in love with artistic crafting. Last fall I started a natural jewelry business called Earthseeds Designs, an incredible learning experince and lesson in organization.
Felted Acorn Earring, copyright Earthseeds Designs...
Right now I am back in the dabbling stage, trying to hone my skills and diversify my ideas to form MittenFolk Designs, which will contain Earthseeds, as well as several other lines. Several local crafters and I have formed an artisan collective, where we shall make, advertise, and sell our crafts through cooperation and community. The name, Collective Wings, is a hat tip to the lovely and talented Elyse Marie, owner of Little Wings Designs and leather-worker extraordinaire.
The Little Wings/ Collective Wings workshop, Elyse's lovely work.
We have grand plans, reaching out from pop-up shops to summer music festivals and artisan markets, but right now we are all working away at creating and stocking up on our pieces. Once summer hits, our lives shall be a whirlwind!
Last night, at our Weekly Wednesday Work-night, not only did we crochet, cross-stitch and weave, but we also got to watch water boil! … that is our catch-phrase for the awesome art of natural dyeing!
Watching water boil is sweet!
I shall expound more upon this incredible art at a later date, but suffice to say, using acorns and daylily heads to change the color of cloth is a beautiful well-neigh extinct art form.
‘Twas a delightful and productive night, and we all parted feeling psyched for our future craft endeavors!
Lovely crafters Megan and Kelsey, working away.
Don’t forget, preserving folk arts preserves our humanity. Use your minds, your hands, and your hearts… Craft on! Folk on!
MittenFolk 